Patellofemoral Pain Treatment

Patella (kneecap)is the largest and one of the most incongruentjoints in the body that is flat triangular in shape. The bone is fixed within the quadriceps muscles in the body. Patellofemoral is a term mainly used to describe peripatellar and retro patellar pain i.e. it is a pain caused in the front of the knee (you will feel pain under and around your knee cap). This kind of knee pain mostly occurs in young female athletes, manual laborers, and youngsters. In this article you will find ways to Patellofemoral pain treatment.

What are the causes of Patellofemoral?

Patellofemoralpain is typically caused by sudden injury, over workload, excess weight, standing more than required, patella tracking disorder (improper alignment of kneecap) or certain changes made in the kneecap during any past injury. Other than this thigh muscle imbalance, calf muscle tightness, soft tissue dysfunction around the knee joint, poor motor contro,and hip muscle power deficit are some of the causes of knee pain.

Symptoms–

When a person is suffering from Patellofemoral syndrome, a probable sign that he/she will notice is knee pain especially when you are sitting with bent knees for a longer period of time or jumping continuously or going down the stairs more than the desired capacity. Apart from this, a person may also experience feeling of instability of the knees, or muscle weakness, or problem of squatting.

Pain treatment

Patellofemoral syndrome can be treated by avoiding certain activities that are a cause of it. Depending on the severity, the Patellofemoral pain treatment includes:

Avoid sitting in knee bent position for a long period of time. Also, you should not bend for a long time as it may increase the risk of pain.

A therapist may ask you to perform therapy techniques that strengthens the quadriceps muscles and improves the position of the kneecap.Stretching of the quadriceps for 20-30 seconds with low force shows quick results.

Performing physical exercises that make knee muscles stronger and flexible. Manual stretching of the lateral retinaculum can be used as a comprehensive approach to obtain relief fromPatellofemoral syndrome (PFS).

A patella taping technique is an excellent remedy to realign the position of the kneecap. Wearing a kneecap brace helps in alleviating the knee pain as it acts as a support system for the patella.

If you are a sports player and indulge yourself most in football, volleyball, running etc. than take a break from such activities so that the pain can heal faster.

Ask your doctor to recommend you certain types of shoe for running that can help you in curing knee pain. A physical therapist as a pain management system will recommend you several home exercises program that you will have to follow for effective results.

The tightstrcture of the knee muscles can be loosen by taking sports massage. This helps greatly in anterior knee pain. If the condition is severe and massage is not helpful a surgeon may operate to relief the tightness of the knees.